Feedback Strategies: How to Give Nice, Constructive Feedback

Giving constructive feedback can sometimes be a challenge, like how do you suggest something to someone that they might not want to hear in a way that sounds nice? I honestly have been accustomed to the "compliment sandwich," as mentioned in the "How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk" article. I seem to always approach criticism/feedback with the "start out nice, then bring the bad news in the middle, end with another good thing" mindset, and I always thought it was a good strategy, until I read that article. The article explained that the approach isn't the best because the positives drown out the negatives, and people often only remember the beginning and end of conversations. Another convicting article was the "Five Reasons to Stop Saying 'Good Job!'," as now more than ever I've found myself saying that in comments on blogs and discussion posts in college. That article did bring out a lot of good points that I'd never thought of, like how someone might only do the work for the reward/praise at the end that is fueled by validation in the "good job." 

I do tend to look for validation and seek the good comments that only give me praise, but I also absolutely love when someone takes the time to point out something that could be changed about a piece of my work. It puts me in check and makes me realize that not every single piece I put out is as great as I think it to be. I try to give constructive feedback in as nice of a way as I possibly can, but these articles have made me take a step back and realize that sugar coating feedback might make it worse or not effectively get my point across. 

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